


Where There Is Smoke

by mintedstar (forevermint)



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Characters die here, Forbidden Romance Strikes Again, Gen, Yes There Is a Kid of Scourge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-20
Updated: 2019-09-20
Packaged: 2020-10-24 22:14:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 20
Words: 11,127
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20713370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forevermint/pseuds/mintedstar
Summary: Smokepaw is the son of a forbidden relationship between Cinderpelt and Littlecloud. He's known this for a very, very long time. Just as long as he's known that he will die before he makes it to a warrior.TigerClan, under Tigerstar, has been the ruler of the clans for moons now. Since Smokepaw was small, he has been raised on the tales of how Firestar died ... leaving the clans with nothing left. Now he is to be put to death by Tigerstar - like all the clan cats before him.





	1. Chapter 1

**We always would wonder if the outcome could have been different if Tigerstar had died from his wounds that Scourge had inflicted. We would wonder, but in truth what would really cross our mind was what if. Nothing like that mercy could ever happen now.**

**My name is Smokepaw, the son of Littlecloud and Cinderpelt. Not only am I a cursed half clan cat I am also the son of two medicine cats. I am trapped inside the camp of what was once Thunderclan, and leader, Tigerstar, looks down at me with a small smile.**

**“Let us look down at this apprentice, would be future warrior of Tigerclan.” He paced back and forth across the highledge, his smile morphing into something more of a smirk. **

**My mind was blank with fear. My legs trembled with terror at the thought of what was coming. I had seen it before. I had seen it happen first to Heronpelt of once Riverclan, to Mistyfoot and Stonefur, to Feathertail. Every clan was now united under Tigerstar, but this also meant that his word was law. It meant that I was being condemned.  
I couldn’t even look left or right to see if anyone could help me. If anyone tried their fate would be the same as mine. This, once Thunderclan camp, was where ever half clan cat was destined to go if they were found out. The only difference was that I wasn’t like Mistyfoot. I had heard of the first attempt Tigerstar had made on Mistyfoot’s life, back when there were four clans instead of one, cats had come to her rescue. But I was alone now, my mother and father imprisoned far away from here for their crimes. **

**“This here apprentice is of impure blood,” continued Tigerstar. “His mother was a Thunderclan medicine cat and his father a Shadowclan medicine cat. Even though we are now ‘one clan’ this cannot be allowed. Cats of mixed blood are weak and will destroy our perfect clan. Can we allow this?”  
Cries of ‘No’ rang out from the cats behind me. **

**I voice whispered just by my left ear. It was my captor’s son, Hawkpaw. He was older than me by four moons and was one of Tigerstar’s lackeys. He would do whatever his father said. “Move forward, prisoner.” His voice grated in my ear. It was a hiss and a whisper against the noise of the crowd. My mouth felt like it was filled with ice water. Like the ice water in his eyes.**

**There is no hope here. If it wasn’t for some small remains of the warrior code and something my mother told me when I was very small… well, I would have died before I had seen my first moon. But now, all that was going to end and I would simply be another name whispered to kits. _Don’t follow your heart over the border. It will only lead you to pain. _**

**“I said move,” Hawkpaw’s voice came again and his shoulder was rammed into my back. “Do you want to end up like Firestar?” he asked. I shuddered. Another tale told in the nurseries now. Firestar’s death. My frozen paws moved a step forward.**

** I looked up into Tigerstar’s eyes. Which cat would kill me? That was the only thing left to decide.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**I remember when I was still allowed to be close to my mother. It was the golden years of my life. Now, they just seek to remind me that she was my only home and now I won’t see her again.**

**They used to keep both her and me in a corner of Thunderclan camp. I was born just before Tigerstar killed Scourge and Firestar. But no matter how I try I can never remember a time when we weren’t watched over by some guard or another. It was just my life.**

**I do remember the stories though. That was what made it golden. I wasn’t allowed out, not until I was almost six moons, so my only ideas of what happened out there were from Cinderpelt.**

**The first time she ever told me a story at night, when the guard was sleep and hardly paying attention, was when I was three moons old. She huddled me into the back of the den and held me close. Her movement woke me up and I was hardly able to keep my eyes open as she told it to me.**

** _“Listen, Smokekit. I’ll only tell you this once. Tigerstar was the one who made my leg like this.”_ **

**That got my attention and my eyes widened a little. _“He probably feels some guilt because of it. I think that’s why he is letting you live.”_ My mother’s eyes narrowed. I don’t think she felt any kinder to the Tigerclan leader for doing that for her.**

**_“He will come for you, one day Smokekit. And when he does, you need to remember, no matter what, that you must survive at all cost. Life outside these den walls is harsh, but it is always better than him. So, if it’s between I and escape always choose escape.”_ Many of her stories scared me like that. It was her way of teaching me.**

**Speaking of which, I need to mention that for half-clan cats like me, Scourge is a hero. It’s interesting really. It’s those what-ifs I was talking about. In this case, where we are now, Scourge looks better than Tigerstar right now. This is because we don’t know what he would have done. Tigerstar’s terror we have already experienced. So, now and again, my mother would tell of Scourge and Firestar. They both died the same day. Scourge was killed first. It happened like this. Tigerstar had lost three lives when Scourge attacked him. And when he finally came back Scourge died under his claws. He didn’t see it coming. His ‘warriors’ stared at each other, not knowing what to do. Then a she-cat’s voice cried out above everyone’s head, “Retreat!” The flow of warriors away from the body of Scourge was amazing. My mother said that even a few clan cats had the foresight to follow them. Then there was only Tigerstar and Firestar. Tigerstar seemed to know he had the upper hand now. Cats were scared and he wasn’t. **

**Firestar attacked first. He leaped into the air, hoping that Tigerstar was still weak from losing so many lives at once. Firestar’s leap would have worked, everyone said it later…If it wasn’t for the cat who launched themselves from the bushes. He was a smaller version of Tigerstar and my mother remembers his icy blue eyes. He caught Firestar unaware. He might not have even seen who his downfall was. Because what happened next was that Tigerstar’s claws met the fiery leader’s belly and cut the lives from him. He used the same move that Scourge had used on him. Tigerstar just left his body there. Leaving it for the crows. Hawkpaw was left to bury it. **

****


	3. Chapter 3

****

**“Bramblepaw, come forward,” said Tigerstar. Hawkpaw looked a little shocked, like he had expected his father to call on him. But he stepped aside as his half-brother took his place beside me. **

**He didn’t meet my eyes directly and I noticed that he seemed a little hesitant. He looked up at his father every now and again, like he wanted to please him. I wondered why he looked like he had so much to prove. **

**“Smokepaw,” said Tigerstar with a grin. “If you can beat my son then you can go free.”**

**I knew that was a lie. Everyone knew. He’d given that option to ever half-clan cat since the beginning. And once, just once, a warrior had killed his opponent. Heronflight. I believe I mentioned him before. It had been a deadly fight with Tawnypaw. She hadn’t fought very hard, but Heronflight was desperate. He had wanted to survive. **

**I had watched as a young apprentice from my prison as Tawnypaw had been pushed to the ground. I had watched her father stand there and do nothing. You could imagine his thoughts. _ She is weak. I cannot have a weak daughter. _**

**__  
Tawnypaw had led Heronpelt on until he was gasping with exertion. The cats who were watching had to keep moving so they could let the two run past. When Tawnypaw fell Heronflight had looked up, still gasping for breath, at Tigerstar. Tigerstar had motioned with his tail and Darkstripe stepped out of the crowd.**

**I turned away then. Heronpelt didn’t have the energy to fight anymore. **

**\--**

**So, it was pointless. Hopeless. I couldn’t keep my promise to my mother. **

**“Fight!” said Tigerstar.**

**My claws dug into the ground and my fur was on end. Bramblepaw made the first move…at least he tried to.**

**But someone else was calling, from the entrance to the camp. “Attack! Someone’s coming!”**

**And then a large ginger tabby with flame colored pelt pushed his way between me and the other apprentice.**

****


	4. Chapter 4

****

**I’ll admit, I just stood there in shock. Hawkpaw (who had rejoined the crowd) and Bramblepaw looked just as surprised.**

**I tried to bolt then, but someone grabbed my tail. “Wait,” said the ginger tabby. He was crouched low to the ground and he was casting the occasional glance at the Tigerclan leader. **

**Tigerstar was fighting a white tom. The tom was currently not much of a match him, but another cat was scaling the rocks to his rescue.**

**The tom turned back to me and met my eyes. I noticed that both Bramblepaw and Hawkpaw hadn’t attacked him yet. They had these odd expressions on their faces and I couldn’t tell what they meant.**

**“We’re getting you out of here,” said the tom. “You are the son of Littlecloud, right?”**

**I nodded, not able to speak over the noise of the battle around me.**

**The tom leaned down, whispering in my ear. “There’s a way out behind the Highrock. Go.”**

**He let my tail go and I raised off. I think Tigerstar noticed me because I heard him shout something. But I just ran. **

**The ferns behind Highrock were thin and a small tunnel led me out into the forest. It looked like brambles had once covered the hole, but had recently been pulled away.**

**Behind me I heard a voice call a retreat. It must be the group that had attacked Tigerclan. I turned my head to look behind me, wondering if the tom who had saved me was safe.**

**That cat looked like how Mother described Firestar.**

**Could the old Thunderclan leader possibly be alive?**

**“Psst ,” hissed a voice from the nearest bush. I looked up, fur once again on end.**

**“Whose there!”**

**“Quiet, I’m just here to help,” said a she-cat’s voice. **

**And then Scourge stepped out of the bushes. It looked like him down to the color. **

**I backed up until my back was to the ferns. My mother had described this cat as well. But for sure, he was dead.  
Scourge sighed. “I get that reaction from clan cats all the time. Look, if you think Tigerstar’s going to treat you any better, go back to him.”**

**I paused. The shape of this cats head was different than it should be. The voice was also to high.**

**In Smokepaw’s shock he hadn’t realized that this cat was female. **

**“Who are you?” he asked**

**“My name is Rose and I’m the leader of the new BloodClan,” said the she-cat. “And we just saved your fur.”**

****


	5. Chapter 5

****

  
**   
** **Rose checked behind herself every now and again to make sure I was still following. I wasn’t really sure why I trusted her, except maybe it was that I had no other place to go and very few choices. Choices being: Return to TigerClan and die or follow the apparent daughter of Scourge and only possibly die. I remembered what Cinderpelt had told me. If it came down to it, possible was better than not at all.**

**I had never seen further then ThunderClan territory. I’d never seen much outside the camp. So, the sight of the moor took my breath away. It truly was amazing. Rose didn’t pause in her journey and I had to run to catch up. I wasn’t sure whether I should ask questions or not and just ended up looking at my paws most of the way. **

**“WindClan knows that we are here. At least, their patrols avoid where we have made our camp,” said Rose, finally, breaking the silence. I looked up, nodded, then returned my gaze to the ground. Rose seemed a little miffed at this, but stopped talking. My stomach turned over a couple of times. What was I doing? Was there even a goal in following this cat? I was doomed anyway. **

**The camp was hidden inside some gorse bushes and the dens seemed to include old rabbit warrens. Rose pushed her way into the camp and I followed, losing a bit of my fur on the way. Cats, some injured from the resent battle and some not, gathered in the small area. I frowned. The numbers had seemed so large when they had attacked TigerClan camp, but here they looked like only about twelve to nineteen cats. The white tom I’d seen attacking Tigerstar was running around, treating those who were wounded even though one of his paws clearly was badly injured. “Fairytale!” called a voice behind me and I stiffened. It was the fire colored tom. He’d just entered behind us and now he passed me with hardly a glance and he walked down into the gathered cats. The white tom hesitated, looked up, and asked, “Huh? Repeat that again, Copper.”**

**My spirits sagged. This cat wasn’t Firestar, was he? Unless he was using a different name. **

**“Fairytale,” said Copper again. “Stop running around like a deranged rabbit and pay attention to the fact your hurt.” The white tom looked down at his paw as if he had only now just noticed it was bleeding. “Uh…” he said, then looked around and a few other cats. “Uh, come someone get me more cobwebs. They’re in my den.” His tail swept along the earth to indicate a den in the corner of the cramped camp.**

**Two cats, who were uninjured, shared amused looks and went off to get what he needed. Then, both Fairytale and Copper turned to look at me and I froze, wondering why they were only now noticing I was here.**

**“That’s the son of Littlecloud that you both where talking about, right?” asked Fairytale. “Yes,” said Rose, walking down into the camp. I slowly followed, wondering why everyone kept defining me as Littlecloud’s son. I’d never even met my father. All I knew was that he had been the ShadowClan medicine cat before TigerClan ruled the forest. Copper frowned at me, as if trying to see the likeness of my parents in me. Hadn’t Firestar known Littlecloud? I couldn’t help asking.**

**“Wh-why does that matter?”**

**Rose looked to Copper and the latter frowned. “I thought you knew. Littlecloud was killed yesterday in RiverClan camp by Leopardstar’s orders. Cinderpelt was killed three days ago and no other half clan cat remain alive. You are the last clan cat with two clan bloodlines running in you.”**

**My legs grew shaky. Not because I was the last clan cat. But because I had not yet heard the news of my mother’s death. Fairytale frowned at me, taking a couple of seconds to see my body start to tremble.**

**“Um, Copper. I don’t think he knew that. Smokepaw? Smokepaw?!” My mind was to numb to hear him.**

****


	6. Chapter 6

  


**  
Everything has changed. My heart hurts. I never knew my father, but my mother was the only one in my world, the only one who was by my side. Maybe she hadn’t been there for me in the days leading up to my execution, but I felt her there anyway, telling me to hold on.**

**Fairytale doesn’t seem to know what to do with me. He can tell I’m in shock and supplied me with thyme, but other than that, he can’t really give me comfort. Copper had left, though I could tell his green eyes still rested on me. It was hard for me to even think of the possibility that he was Firestar.**

**Firestar and Scourge. The two cats who were almost heroes to all half-clan cats because they had stood against Tigerstar. Yet, this group, New BloodClan or whatever, had both a Scourge and a Firestar and that had done nothing for my family.**

**I’d been taken from TigerClan, but Tigerstar was still out there. And now I felt even more alone.**

**\--**

**“Get up,” said Copper, poking me with one of his paws. I looked up, eyes clouded.**

**“Look,” said Copper. “I know what you’re going through, but sitting here won’t bring back your mother. We need your help and you aren’t any help laying in Fairytale’s den.”**

**I met his gaze, confused. “How could I possibly help?”**

**“Because you know what TigerClan camp looks like. We don’t,” replied Copper.**

**“But there can’t possibly be enough cats here to launch another attack,” I said, remember how few cats I had seen when I first came here. There were hardly twenty cats here.**

**“Ah, but being in here for the past two days means you’ve missed a few things. Come outside.”**

**I slowly got to my paws, still confused. Copper turned around in the cramped space and squeezed out of the den opening. I padded slowly behind, eyes squinting as they agusted to the light. I’d been inside the gloom of the den for so long that all the colors around me felt very bright. It took a second to realize that the small camp was full of cats. Full of cats.**

**I looked around, unable to move in the crowd. Where had they all come from?**

**One cat turned to look at me and I noticed their pelt was thin and their legs were long. I sniffed and smelt the moor on these cat’s fur. Looking up and around again my mouth slowly fell open. Cats were in the camp, but I also caught glimpses of them through the gorse bushes around the edges of camp.**

**“WindClan?” I breathed.**

****


	7. Chapter 7

  


  
**“How did this happen?” I asked, my mouth opening wide. Copper was suddenly standing beside me again, his green eyes bright.**

**“This is WindClan,” he said, voice what I already knew. “They came because of Littlecloud.”**

**“What?” I asked confused. “Why would they come because of a ShadowClan medicine cat?”**

**Slowly, a she-cat made her way through the crowd. My attention didn’t go to her until Copper turned his head, his attention suddenly split.**

**“Ashstar,” he whispered under his breath. It turned to look at the young leader, eyes suddenly wide. I had been away from the news and the gossip of clan life when I had been imprisoned, so I didn’t know anything about this leader. What had happened to Mudstar?**

**Ashstar stopped a few steps away from Copper. The cats around her leaned away, giving her space. One she-cat was pressing her shoulder into my flank to the point that I had to hiss at her because she was hurting me.**

**“Copper?” Ashstar asked. “You look very much like Firestar.”**

**“So I’ve been told,” said the co-leader of BloodClan. His tone was a little cold. “Need I remind you that Firestar is dead?”  
Ashstar raised an eyebrow at his words. She didn’t clearly hadn’t said it to offend or to state that Firstar was somehow alive. Why was his tone so sharp?**

**“I’m here to offer I and my warriors’ services.” Copper dipped his head. “We thank you. I apologize for not being able to rescue Smokepaw sooner.”**

**Ashstar’s voice was suddenly chilled. “I think you timed it rather well, actually. Mudstar having the same sickness as Littlecloud had so long ago? Mudstar dying from it? I find it all very convenient that you had a rescue staged just in time to rescue Smokepaw from death.”**

**I couldn’t see Copper’s eyes, but I was far to confused to question anything yet. Had he said that…that I somehow meant something to this leader? Why? I didn’t know here at all.**

**“If you thought that, why come?” asked Copper.**

**Ashstar’s lips pealed back from her teeth. “I was deputy for four moons, fire-pelted tom. I could do nothing to help him without losing Tigerstar’s favor. If he had found out my relationship with Littlecloud, he would have tried to kill him sooner.”**

**“Then why not take action into your own paws. Kill Mudstar and make yourself leader?” asked Rose, coming to stand by Copper. The tom didn’t look up to meet her gaze and I could see from here that his fur was on end. “Unless,” said Rose, quietly. “That’s what you did.”**

**Murmurs from the surrounding cats rose into the air. Ashstar bristled. “I come to offer my help and you start telling lies about how I became leader? Do I not have nine lives? StarClan would not accept a murderer.”**

**“We don’t want your help,” said Rose, looking into the she-cat’s blue eyes. “I ask you. How can you stand there and say that, when TigerClan is in power? The cat that killed Firestar rules over us all. He killed Littlecloud just as easily. Why are you here? Every word you have said contracts each other.”**

**Ashstar gave a shuddering sigh, clearly trying to keep her control. Copper raised his gaze to her. Green and ice blue eyes both asking serious questions.**

**I had no idea what to think of the deadly silence around camp. My head was still spinning.**

**Ashstar finally broke the silence. “I’m here for him.” Her words seemed to hold a lot, but I still didn’t know who she was talking about. **

**“You’re not talking about Littlecloud now?” questioned Rose. Ashstar shook her head. “No. Deadfoot.” Her eyes were on her paws. “Littlecloud was imprisoned in our camp. He nursed my mate back to health. I owe him everything and yet I couldn’t stop his death.”**

**She looked up again, adding. “I as good as killed Mudstar. I didn’t tell anyone that Littlecloud knew the cure to that sickness. He only told me when he saw Deadfoot had it. I never let up my guard duty of his prison. I only let Deadfoot in to see him. He wouldn’t have known about Mudstar until it was too late.”**

**The murmurs weren’t as loud now. Maybe some of Ashstar’s clanmates had already made the connection since they had more information than we did.**

**“So, you feel you owe something to the son in his place,” stated Copper. He looked out of the corner of his eye at Rose. She was silent for a few minutes, then said, “Your help in this is appreciated, Ashstar.”**


	8. Chapter 8

  
**I felt very much the outsider. I had somehow gotten the leader of WindClan on our side, even though she was just paying back a favor. Now, Copper, Rose, and Ashstar were in the cramped warriors den, alone. I was outside, trying to find some sort of privacy. The camp had emptied a little. WindClan had moved back out into their territory, having only stayed to hear their leader’s words.**

**“I have some of the cats here keeping an eye on them,” said a voice behind me. I jumped, turning to see Fairytale. “What?” I asked.**

**“Spies and traitors,” he elaborated. “Some of those cats have to be loyal to Tigerstar. Ashstar was a fool to bring them all here. But she’s a new leader and I don’t think she was really thinking straight to begin with.”**

**I eyed him. “And how would we know if they were spies or traitors?” If they were, wouldn’t they be good at their job?**

**“Minnow,” responded Fairytale. “They’ll have to report back to Tigerstar sooner or later and we had a spy right in his main camp.”**

**“Who?” I asked, blinking in surprise. “How hasn’t he been rooted out yet?”**

**“Because he’s Tigerstar’s son!” said Fairytale, as if he was finally getting to the climax of his story. He seemed to like holding onto the surprise until he just couldn’t keep ahold of it any longer.**

**He got the response he probably wanted. Pure shock. “What!” I shouted. “Bram-“ I was cut off as Fairytale slapped a tail over my mouth. “Our spy is called Minnow,” he said quietly. You will not speak the names of Tigerstar’s sons so carelessly.”**

**I mumbled around his tail, still disbelieving. It could only be Bramblepaw. It had to be. But why couldn’t I speak either of his son’s names?**

**Fairytale took back his tail and smiled at me. “Now, no worrying about traitors. We have things to do!”**

**“Like what?” I asked, cocking my head. **

**“We have to plan our next attack on TigerClan. Hopefully, we can get ShadowClan on our side now that we have a little more power. After all, they just lost their medicine cat. But RiverClan might be a little harder…”**

**“How are we supposed to do that?” I squeaked. “I’m just an apprentice.”**

**“Exactly,” said Fairytale, mischief gleaming in every atom of his eyes. “The next medicine cat apprentice of ShadowClan.”**

****


	9. Chapter 9

  


** 6 moons later~~ **

**“This is Littlecloud’s son,” said Fairytale. Blackstar glared at me with hard eyes and I felt like backing up behind Fairytale. “Don’t think we haven’t heard,” he growled.**

**“Hum?” asked Fairytale brightly, blinking his eyes a couple of times. I realized that Blackstar was near his left side and that the white tom hadn’t properly heard him. “He said he’d heard,” I whispered to him, making sure to speak into his right ear.**

**“Ah, oh,” said the tom, nodding at Blackstar. His attention wandered backwards to the ShadowClan deputy and Rose, who were both staring daggers at each other. “Come on Blacky, you need a medicine cat, don’t you? And Smokepaw here is offering.”**

**I flinched at the nickname, crouching down as if expecting Blackstar to strike out at Fairytale. But all he did was twitch his whiskers as if expecting him to do better. “I can already tell he has no spine. And we can’t harbor a known fugitive. In fact, I should have thrown you out _at best_ if my _ex-_ally Ashstar hadn’t said to hear you out. But you haven’t said anything useful since you entered my den.”**

**Fairytale looked like he was about to say something else, but I muttered something under my breath and Blackstar cut him off.  
“What was that?”**

**The medicine cat for the rogues paused and I swallowed, realizing I’d have to speak. “I said,” voice a little hoarse. “I said that you don’t have a right to say that.”**

**“What?” asked Blackstar, and once again I was surprised that he didn’t seem to find these words provoking. “And why do you think you can say that?” His voice held a tone that said this better be good.**

**I swallowed again. I was doing that a lot. “Sir, I’ve trained for six moons, can treat any disease you care to name, have taken Rose’s group through three battles with TigerClan and a couple of other things like badgers and foxes. You don’t have to say I am spineless and think I’m not worth the trouble without _seeing_ me work. No cat has died under my care. Can you say the same thing in Littlecloud’s absence? How many cats will have to die before you find a suitable medicine cat? Your mate? Your kits? Take me in for one moon and I’ll prove that throwing your loyalty in with Ashstar, Rose, and Copper is not a mistake.” By the end of this I was standing straight and looking Blackstar in the face.**

**The ShadowClan leader had said nothing through all of this and only the occasional twitch of a whisker or ear proved he was listening at all. Something in his silence had spurred on my rant and finally as it faded out he said, “Perhaps there is something of Littlecloud in him after all.”**

**Fairytale looked hopeful at that, but the look Blackstar gave him quickly killed that. “No. I still won’t have him.”**

**A cough cut him off. The deputy of ShadowClan started coughing, shoulders hunched and each hack sent a flinch through Blackstar. He looked over at Smokepaw and a small sigh escaped his mouth.**

**“There will be no rest for you as long as you work here, kit. Get started.”**

****


	10. Chapter 10

  
****

**The fact that Fairytale stayed in ShadowClan camp for almost three nights kind of dented my confidence. I wanted to prove to Blackstar that I didn’t need my mentor’s help. But secretly, I was glad for his help.**

**ShadowClan was not well off. I was often woken in the middle of the night by a coughing apprentice and would have to walk with a fuzzy head to the meager medicine stores.**

**Nothing was in its correct place, it seemed like every other cat was sick or hurt, and I had Blackstar or a worried relative of a sick cat hovering over me at every turn. Some nights, my paws trembled at the thought that, if a cat died of greencough tomorrow, would Blackstar give me to Tigerstar?**

**The first night I was there I woke up gasping, sweat spiking my fur. A soft voice slowly broke through my post-dream panic and my eyes finally met Fairytale’s. The white tom’s tail slowly drifted over my back and he was whispering words of comfort. He looked ruffled from sleeping and his nest across the den was disturbed.**

**“What’s the matter, Smokepaw?” he asked after a couple seconds more, once my heartrate was calmed.**

**I didn’t answer for a while and he started to look like he was going back to his nest again, but I finally said, “What if someone tells Tigerstar I’m here?”**

**Fairytale seemed a little surprised at the question and his tail paused. “I don’t want to scare you more than you already seem to be Smokepaw, but I’m sure he already knows.”**

**My fur bristled and he hurriedly tried to calm me again.**

**“Shhh, don’t look so panicked. He can't do anything to you.”**

**“What? Of course, he can! If he comes here –.” Fairytale shook his head, a small smile playing through his eyes. “He can’t do that without risking an interclan war. We have WindClan and ShadowClan on our side as long as you are here.” He tapped my nose with his tail.**

**“Me?” That was a lot of pressure. I was, in theory, a ShadowClan cat now. I was their medicine cat. Then there was Ashstar, who was trying to repay her debt to my dead father. **

**“Don’t worry so much. If Tigerstar plans anything, Minnow will report it to us.”**

**BloodClan’s spy within TigerClan. I curled up in my nest again, feeling a little better. Later, when things had played out, I wondered…**

**Fairytale is smart. I have a feeling he was worried about something, but I just didn’t want to ask. He left two sunrises later and all of ShadowClan knew it. One cat, in particular, was waiting.**

**Tigerstar couldn’t attack directly. But he could send an assassin. We could have spies, but so could he.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

  


**A paw prodded me in the side and I rolled over to face a distressed looking Morningpaw. Her fur was spiked up and her eyes wide. “You have to come quick. Someth-something’s happened to Blackstar.”**

**I hurriedly pushed myself to my paws, still groggy in the half-light of dawn, but I followed the apprentice as fast as I could.**

**I didn’t have to go far, because Blackstar’s body was almost pushed up against my den. I could tell he was dead, even before I walked up. My breath caught in my throat before I slowly let it out again. He wasn’t on his last life. He would be back with us, sooner rather than later as his body was already beginning to heal.**

**“Get me some cobwebs,” I said to Morningpaw, still not wanting to take any chances. I stepped closer, fur standing on end, and sniffed my leader from nose to tail tip. Scratches covered his body. Cat, if I knew anything about these things. Blackstar had put up a good fight, but skill was in his opponents movements. Skills that I don’t think anyone in ShadowClan knew.**

**_TigerClan cat,_ I thought. It had to be. These were the types of moves that were used on half-clan cats at their execution. They were taught in the four clans. In theory, all of the clans were one, but Tigerstar was the ruling leader. Everyone answered to him, but mostly closely, ThunderClan answered to him. Most of the original ThunderClan didn’t exist anyway. The ThunderClan Smokepaw knew was full of Tigerstar’s thugs. They were the enforcers of the laws.**

**And it looked like one had been doing just that.**

**“This is my fault,” I muttered. Blackstar’s tail twitched and I wondered if he could hear me.**

**I leaned in, trying to see if he was conscious. “Who did this?”**

**Blackstar cracked an eye open and his hoarse voice whispered. “He’s still here. Tigerstarrrr….” His voice slurred and his eye fell closed again. My pelt lifted as my gaze flew around camp. Tigerstar. Tigerstar was here? How was that possible? Why would the leader risk it all to come here?**

**Morningpaw hadn’t come back yet. My stomach clenched in horror as suspicion dawned. No.**

**I raced back to my den, paws skidding on pine needles as I went and I blundered through the entrance only to freeze as my living nightmare showed before me.**

**He must have snuck in behind our backs, when we’d been looking at Blackstar’s body. Morningpaw had come back and…**

**Bramblepaw turned a blood-stained muzzle to face me and I backed up another step.**

**That couldn’t be… Minnow. “Minnow…?” my face was full of horror. Our spy. Our greatest spy. And he’d – he’d…  
“What are you blabbering about?” asked Bramblepaw as he walked forward, toward me. I stumbled backward. I’d gotten it wrong. I’d gotten it all wrong. So, had the stories from my kithood.**

**“It was you,” I said, stumbling backward. “It was always you.”**

**It wasn’t Hawkpaw that had helped kill Firestar. It must have been Bramblepaw. Which meant that Hawkpaw was our spy, Minnow, and Bramblepaw was going to kill me.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

  


**Blackstar stepped between us on shaking legs. He was hardly standing at all, but Bramblepaw still seemed to be slightly surprised that the leader had recovered enough to move. Blackstar’s ears were laid back and his lips were peeled away from his teeth. “Get away from our medicine cat,” he hissed.**

**I was almost more surprised by his words than by seeing Bramblepaw here. Blackstar was stepping between Tigerstar’s son and me. That must have taken a lot of thought. He had hardly seemed to trust me near his cats until now, and here he was, putting my life about his. He had called me ‘our medicine cat’. I guess that really meant I was a member of ShadowClan now.**

**Bramblepaw hissed, claws digging into the pine needles. I turned my head around, wondering where all the ShadowClan cats were. Where had they been through all of this? Morningpaw had been the one to find Blackstar, but they were the only two ShadowClan cats I’d seen since waking up.**

**The TigerClan cat grinned, seeing my confusion. He tried to edge around Blackstar, so he could taunt me in full view. “Finally noticed? None of them are here. Or if they are, they can’t help you.”**

**I backed up again, not sure if I should be helping Blackstar or trying to escape. What had Bramblepaw done to the rest of my clan? He couldn’t have killed them or hurt them without raising an alarm. One or two, however horrifying it was, maybe. But not all of them.**

**“Want to know what happened? I didn’t come alone, that’s what happened.” He waved a tail at the surrounding dens and I caught the swift movement of dark fur. Cats were in there. My fur prickled again as my brain registered what den he was indicating. The nursery.**

**“You fox-heart!” I hissed. “What have you done to the kits?”**

**“Nothing,” purred a chocolate smooth voice. I recognized it as Darkstripe. “Yet.” The warrior padded around the apprentice den, tail twitching lightly. “Did Morningpaw give you the message we wanted?”**

**I’d already guessed that Morningpaw must have been sent to lure me out of my den. Possibly Blackstar as well.**

**I slowly turned, trying to keep Darkstripe and Bramblepaw in my sights at all time. Bramblepaw hadn’t been much older than me. He had probably received his warrior name already. But there was no way I was going to try and find it out now.**

**My back was to Blackstar and I hoped he was doing alright. There was no way that we were getting out of this. Blackstar was a skilled warrior, but there was likely a dozen TigerClan warriors in the camp. If we did anything rash, they might kill the kits…if they went lying. They might have killed them already, and we would never know until it was too late.**

**A sharp hiss suddenly came from the nursery and a bundle of white and gray tumbled out of the den. My mouth feel open in shock as I recognized a TigerClan she-cat and _Fairytale_ wrestling on the needle covered ground of the ShadowClan camp.**

**What was he doing here!**

**Blackstar didn’t hesitate like I did. He threw himself at Bramblepaw, weak as he was, and caught him by surprise. Another form flew out of the nursery to join him, and I flinched, because it was Morningpaw’s mother. Without waiting to see if someone was going to engage Darkstripe, I forced my way through the cramped nursery entrance.**

**The den was crowded with cats and the muddled scent of ShadowClan, TigerClan, and BloodClan drifted into my nose. Cats filtered in and out of an even smaller back entrance and I realized that it was the one that the queens used to go to the dirtplace. It had probably been lightly guarded, as TigerClan hadn’t been expecting any back-up was coming. There didn’t seem to be any kits remaining in the den and all I could do was hope that BloodClan and ShadowClan had prioritized their escape.**

**Rose bounded over to me, ears back and eyes wide. “Please tell me we got here in time. Minnow contacted us about the ambush as soon as he could.”**

**I nodded my head, trying to force the thought of Morningpaw’s body to the back of my mind. “Your fine.”**

**A second thought burst to the surface and my eyes widened. “Bramblepaw.”**

**Rose flinched, looking back and around at the fighting and running cats. They were all trying to break out into the main camp, so we had yet to be interrupted. “Don’t say that name,” the BloodClan leader hissed.**

**“No,” I said, ears laid back at the thought. “He knows. Bramblepaw knows who Minnow is.”**

**He had to. After what I had stated when I saw him, he must know that his own brother was a traitor and a spy.**

**Rose’s fur bristled further and her eyes were bright with fear. Minnow was their secret, their greatest ally. He was the only reason that they were still fighting. “Where is Tigerstar’s son?” she asked. “We need to find him, before he tries to escape.”  
**


	13. Chapter 13

  
**I was slim and I easily wiggled my way through the writhing mass of cats. TigerClan was outnumbered and they were drawing back. However, that was the problem. Bramblepaw would be drawing back with them.**

**Rose hadn’t been so lucky about making her way out of the nursery and, though she had inherited her father’s small frame, she was stocky. TigerClan cats cast her nervous glances, like they were seeing a ghost, and she used that to her advantage. Smokepaw would look back and see her getting closer, but wherever he looked he never saw the tabby stripes of Bramblepaw.**

**TigerClan was beaten back to the camp entrance and a call from Darkstripe drove them back into a retreat. Rose pushed her way to a place beside me, eyes wide. “Too late!” she spat. Bramblepaw was gone.**

**My fur bristled. It was all my fault. If I hadn’t been so _stupid_, if I hadn’t taken my mother’s words so truthfully, Hawkpaw wouldn’t be in danger. He…he might be killed for this, if he didn’t escape. But how would he know to run?**

**“I thought that Bramblepaw was the spy,” I half whispered, in complete shock.**

**“That was the point,” said Rose, her ears laid back. “Minnow made it sound like he had been the one to kill Firestar when…”**

**“When really, he was just setting it up so Firestar could become Copper,” I finished. Rose neither denied or confirmed it, she just pressed on. “And then, he started passing information to us. He’s been the one who has helped spearhead all the plans so far. Minnow’s information has been invaluable. He gives all he can without coming under suspicion himself.”**

**Sadly, I now knew how he did this. Hawkpaw was still ruthless, no matter what side he was on. Sometimes, things had happened a little to smoothly for half-clan cats and it would _turn out_ that a cat had been helping them. Hawkpaw had always been near and now I knew that he had pushed attention off of himself onto another cat.**

**“What do we do?” I asked.**

**Rose answered easily, “There’s nothing we can do. H-Minnow can take care of himself. He’ll do what he can.” But I knew that this was a heavy blow against BloodClan. I looked around, pelt fluffed up. ShadowClan was a mess. I could see from the steely look in many of the warriors’ eyes that they were now completely against Tigerstar, but they had just lost an apprentice and their leader had lost a life. On top of that, even with mine and Fairytale’s best efforts, they were still sick. WindClan was only one clan, ShadowClan was sick and beaten, and BloodClan had so few cats. As it was, with TigerClan’s ruthless fighters, we would hardly be a thorn in their paws.**

**“RiverClan,” I said, a sick, dangerous, and horrible plan coming into my mind. “We need RiverClan.”**

****


	14. Chapter 14

  


****

**I think I’m insane.**

**But that’s probably true, isn’t it? Because I need to be if I’m going to get this right. I need to show Leopardstar that she needs to work with us and that she is the only way we are ever going to save Minnow. To save us all.**

**My paw sunk a good three feet into the icy water. It was all I could do not to flinch. I put another paw forward, being as quiet as I could.**

**The mud I had used to hide my scent slowly drifted away downstream as I waded further and further into the river, until I could no longer feel the bottom. I was already shivering.**

**I’d never swum before, but I’d picked the calmest looking area of the river and was praying to StarClan that it would work. A little voice, doubtful as always, was muttering about undertows.**

**Somehow, I made it across the river without drowning, which I thanked StarClan for. I flopped onto the wet mud and grass on the opposite bank. From here, the trees died out, replaced by water weed and other plants that RiverClan seemed to live in. I didn’t know how they hunted without the tall trees. The scrub brush and weeds seemed like they would offer little ground prey. I supposed that meant they just lived of fish, though I could hardly imagine such a fate.**

**I laid there. It wasn’t like I could find my way to RiverClan camp anyway. Waiting for a patrol, whether it be Tigerstar’s or Leopardstar’s, it didn’t seem to matter.**

**The side of my face was pressed into the dew and water wet grass. I didn’t close my eyes however, or move away. The water soaked into my fur, making me want to shiver, but I suppressed the urge. Dawn was almost here, and I shouldn’t have to wait long.**

**…**

**And I was suddenly jerked awake by a sharp kick to my side. I woke up at once, yelping and leaping to my paws.**

**Or I tried to, but someone had their paws pressed down on my shoulders. I turned my head, an awkward angle being taken up to see who was keeping me grounded. It was a she-cat with a very dark grey coat, though I didn’t know who it was. I had never met her. Behind her, there was another cat. A black tom with hard, cold eye. I was pretty sure he was the one who kicked me, since his foreleg was still held up as if he was about to do it again. My chest throbbed.**

**“What are you doing on our territory, ShadowClan,” the she-cat hissed. But the tom cut in before I could even look at her. “Don’t be an idiot, Shadepelt. This isn’t _ShadowClan_. This is _filth_. Can’t you smell it on him? It a _half-clan_ cat.”**

**Shadepelt, though I could feel just a little hesitation in her paws, flinched backward as if burned. Though the action was clear, it almost seemed practiced. Even the tom seemed to think so and he sneered. “What’s scum like you doing here? Think Tigerstar and Leopardstar is going to accept you.”**

**I remained where I was, but I shook my head. “No,” I breathed out. “I’m here to turn myself in.”  
**   



	15. Chapter 15

**My fear was that they would take me to Tigerstar instead of Leopardstar. But the warriors of RiverClan did not disappoint. I was dragged in front of Leopardstar. The clan, hardly awake, was gathered around the fresh-kill pile to eat. The warriors looked up and I saw haggard faces and cold eyes. I wondered if all the friendly faces had been weeded out of RiverClan like they had in ThunderClan. WindClan was more protected, having been the furthest from Tigerstar’s home. ShadowClan less so, but still, in some ways, it had been protected. But Tigerstar’s battle-hardened allies across the river were in the worst shape.**

**The dappled she-cat looked up. Scars crossed her shoulders and her muzzle, and she blinked when she saw me. I couldn’t tell what her expression was, and I licked my lips, feeling like I needed a drink of water.**

**“Where did you catch him?” her voice was lifeless. A shiver up and down my spine shook my body and I could feel the two warriors beside me lean away. I was scared, but it was too late to consider that. I had made it this far. “They didn’t catch me,” I cut in before either the tom or the she-cat could speak. The black tom couldn't get a word out, though he had opened his mouth to try. “I came by choice.” My voice didn’t shake, though my paws did.**

**A spark of surprise flickered in Leopardstar’s eyes, but she said nothing to this statement. The cats around her had all looked over, his attention being dragged out. A few cats, he vaguely noticed, had stood up. They slipped away from the crowd, looking back to check that no one had noticed them. Not like they were that lucky. Cats did notice, but they kept their mouths shut. Like I had, they had guessed that they were spies and informants. But it was impossible for me to know if they were informants for Tigerstar or Rose. Either way, time would be running out.**

**“Your execution was scheduled several seasons ago,” said the RiverClan leader. I raised my head higher, chin jutting out. At least this leader called it what it was. Not a challenge, not an option of freedom that would never happen. Slaughter that was ‘normal’ for those under Tigerstar. “And yet,” she said. “You came back aware that the sentence would be carried out?”**

**“I did,” I answered. This seemed to dumbfound Leopardstar. But she quickly regained control of her emotions. She stood straighter. Her long, spotted tail flicking as she looked over my shoulder at the black tom and then the grey she-cat. “Shadepelt, Blackclaw,” she barked. I felt rather than saw the two cats flanking me turn. My shoulders hunched and my eyes became half lidded. Shadepelt looked grim, eyes wild with horror at what she was being ordered to do. Blackclaw seemed almost gleeful. **

**I didn’t flinch at Leopardstar’s words, but continued to look at her. She blinked at me, looking with eyes that seemed to grow deader as she gave the order. “Kill him.”**

**Blackclaw pounced on command, but Shadepelt hung back. Her fur bushed outward and I preyed on her hesitation, barreling toward her, as Blackclaw made a grab for my tail. She crouched down, preparing herself for the collision. Yet, I didn’t attack. I leaped over her.**

**The cats closed in, making a ring. As if I’d been planning to run. But no, I turned around, waiting. My eyes flicked to Shadepelt and I grinned at her, a shaky grin, but a grin nonetheless. She looked at me like I was insane, and maybe I was.**

**Blackclaw muttered something about the she-cat being a useless lump of fur. He then darted past Shadepelt and charged at me. His claws unsheathed, but mine weren’t. I was a young warrior-medicine cat who had never gotten a name in either. He _certainly_ was not. His muscles bunched as he leaped again. This time, it was a more focused leap, one I knew would connect if I didn’t dodge fast enough.**

**And I didn’t move at all. I stayed stalk still, waiting for his claws to meet my neck.**


	16. Chapter 16

**(One day earlier) **

**Three days. That was all I was giving them. But in those three days, I approached Rose with my plan. **

**The first time, she looked at me, shook her head, and walked away. I noted that she said ‘insane toms’ under her breath as she went. But I didn’t stop. I followed after her and tried again. **

**And finally, she did listen. She didn’t like it, but she listened. **

**“It’s a suicide plan. We aren’t letting you do it,” she said. Then she turned and walked away again. **

**See…told you that she listened. I never said she _agreed_. **

**So, I started small instead. I told her we were doing the plan, or I was walking into the TigerClan camp and turning myself in. **

**That’s what got her. **

**“Fine. But we’re going to need more time and you are going to have to allow Copper to contact the spies in RiverClan. How long are you going to wait or do I need to put a guard on you?” **

**“I think we can allow another day or two…any more than that and Hawkpaw might be killed,” I answered. Looking at my paws, I was surprised how I used my own life as a way to threaten BloodClan into action. **

**“Fine,” said Rose. “Anything else you want to milk out of me while I’m here?” Her words were short, clipped, and…sad. **

**I looked up. “If I’m going to die, Rose…I don’t want there to be secrets.” **

**She shivered. She knew that the risks in this plan, for me the most, were going to be astonishing. “Which secrets?” **

**“I want to know…how is Firestar alive?” **

**That caught her. She looked like a deer in the eyes of a twoleg monster. But, slowly, the look faded. She looked away from me and out into the forest. The pine trees looked lovely, peaceful, and the forest was soundless. We were alone, and she could tell me everything. And I was ready to listen. **

**“Firestar is not alive,” she said. “He died by Tigerstar’s paws. But the cat you and I call Copper…he is the same cat that was once called Firestar. If you, as a leader, failed so utterly to protect the cats you loved. The ones you promised to lead…I think I would renounce my old name and life too. But he’s still trying. Honestly, he should be the one telling you this story. Him or Minnow, but you didn’t ask him and you can’t ask Hawkpaw. So, I’ll tell it. Listen. I’ll only tell you this once. But if you say it to another clan cat, anyone will swear that you are lying.”   
**


	17. Minnow

**Blood dripped from Tigerstar's fur. Two bodies were below him, one a small black tom with a white paw and another being a ginger tom. His eyes were bright and his white teeth gleamed in his face. **

**I crouched behind him, my spin tingling. My tabby fur fluffed up. Was I scared? It was hard to tell. My ice blue eyes looked around at the shocked faces. There was BloodClan, slowly backing away as if they wanted to run. The only one who stayed in place was the large tom. Scourge's deputy. He barked an order and a threat at his cats, all in one breath. **

**Beside me, my brother Bramblepaw pressed his fur against mine. He was trembling worse than me and I had to pull myself together. I was older, wasn't I? I needed to show him that I was strong. But the way my father had killed the clan leader...it wasn't one enemy against another. There was no thrill of justice. It was savagery. The same look Scourge had when he tried to kill my father. **

**He was enjoying this. **

**RiverClan, ThunderClan, WindClan, even ShadowClan. They were all frozen there. All didn't know what to expect. Was Tigerstar going to turn on them next? **

**"TigerClan!" He called, turning on his heels and looking at Leopardstar. "Attack!" RiverClan cats were hesitant at first, but as soon as the first ShadowClan warriors moved, so did they. Four trees broke out into chaos and I was left by Firestar. **

**...who continued to look very dead. **

**The kittypet leader. Someone my father had drilled into me. Someone less than dirt. I stood by the body, fur bristling even more. My brother huddles close to me and I try to pick out my father or sisters in the crowd. **

**I couldn't see the tabby form of my father, but Mothpaw's small body could be seen as she weaved through the other cats. She was no warrior. I knew that. But she was trying. **

**Why had father brought her here? This was no place for a medicine cat apprentice. But he had insisted. My fur bristled further, puffing out to its full length. I couldn't be more scared of dying. But it was worse watching my only surviving sibling as she tried to dodge the strikes of a tom who'd seen here. **

**I was about to step forward, prying myself from my brother's flank. But then father was there and I breathed a sigh of relief. He'd get rid of the tom for her. He'd protect my sibling. **

**Mothpaw almost ran into his chest, relief on her face like it was on mine. She turned around, renewed vigor in her eyes... Then Tigerstar's paw connected with her haunches and she was pushed into the tom. "Fight!" He snapped. Mothpaw had frozen. She was too shocked to register that the tom she'd been flung into was recovering faster than she was. **

**I rushed forward, leaving Bramblepaw where he was. My paws hit into the blood-soaked grass and I dodged around tails and thrashing paws. I was ready to hurl myself at the cat with his claws raised over my sister's face. What was my father doing! How could he! Mothpaw wasn't a fighter! **

**Tigerstar's paw blocked my path. He walked in front of me and I couldn't get passed him. Tears came to my eyes and my claws scrabbled at his shoulders as I watched. Right until I couldn't anymore. Right when the screaming started. All thoughts of fighting slipped like cold water out of my head. Out of my head and down to my paws, driving ice spears into them and rooting them into the ground. **

**Tigerstar snorted, not looking at me. He looked down at the tom and my sister. The tom raised away, not waiting for retaliation. **

**"She was no fighter," he agreed to my wailed thoughts. There was no sadness in his voice and my legs grew limp. Again...again. Savage. Had I always doubted him? Maybe. Maybe there had always been that little voice that said I could never be a son to a cat like this. **

**But this wasn't doubt. This was horror. Who was my father?  
**


	18. Minnow

**  
He pushed me away from him. I stumbled away, not looking at the blood on the ground. Not hearing the yowls and cries from my clanmates. **

**"Guard Firestar," hissed Tigerstar. "I won't have his body regenerating on me. Though I doubt the filth ever even got nine lives to begin with. It should be an easy enough job for you." His cold eyes looked down on me and I couldn't meet them. **

**"And if he does come back...kill him. It shouldn't be too much for even you." **

**I couldn't even get mad at his words. I was too hollow. **

**But then he said something that broke my concentration on my sorrow. "Better yet... burry him." The leader smirked. "If he comes back after that, hedgehogs will grow wings." **

**Somehow, I stumbled back to my brother. He hadn't seen. And when I saw how his eyes were round with fear, I couldn't tell him. So, I simple didn't look at him at all. I walked past him, taking the bloodied scruff of the old ThunderClan leader in my jaws. He wasn't that far from the trees anyway, so I could drag him into the bushes without much trouble. What could ThunderClan or the others do? They were caught up in fighting BloodClan. **

**Bramblepaw made to follow me, but I shook my head. He opened his mouth, and I knew what he was going to ask. 'Are you okay?' **

**I wasn't. Not even a little bit. But I just continued to move without saying a word to him. **

**Like salt in a wound. It hurt. It stung. But I was slowly becoming numb. **

**The bushes masked my view of the fighting if not the sound. Fear scent stung my noise and I hoped it was mine and not some BloodClan cat's, who was hiding in the bushes. **

**I crouched there. Firestar's ginger and red pelt the only bright colors here. My claws unsheathed and I dug them into the earth. I couldn't tell if I was following my father's orders or taking out my frustrations on the ground. My shoulders shook and heaved. My sight blurred until I could no longer make out what I was looking at. **

**"Wwwhat's wrong?" Rasped a voice. **

**I think I jumped a mile. My paws scrambled against the earth and I almost fell on my face. Blinking, my eyes darted around. But there was no one there. **

**"You're...crying," rasped the voice again. **

**And then my eyes fell on Firestar. **

**His wounds had closed, but he still looked haggered. He hadn't stood either. He was still in the sprawled-out position I'd put him in. **

**One eye was open, looking at me in that sort of disconnected way. His face was full of concern. **

**I froze, every fiber of my body burning. He was alive. Somehow, he was alive. **

**And I had to kill him. **

**The eye closed for a second, but opened with a snap again. The ginger tail moved until the tip was resting on my paw. "Zaaaalll right," Firestar slurred. "Whatever it is, it'llllll be alright." **

**But it wouldn't. Even a kittypet couldn't tell me that. Nothing was alright. **

**The tail on my paw broke the spell on me. But not the way my father probably wanted it to. I did not claw at Firestar's throat. I did not break his neck or even attempt to harm him. **

**I collapsed to the ground hand started to shake with silent sobs. Garbled words escaped my mouth as the horror of Mothpaw's death escaped, one after another. **

**I don't know how long I was there. But soon I felt more than just the pressure of Firestar's tail. His hean was pressed into my shoulder and his eyes seemed to contain more light. He no longer said things would be alright. **

**Thinks weren't all right. **

**\--- **

**"And that," said Rose, "Was all he ever told me about it. The rest is history. History that is neither important, nor will I tell you about out past failures. Hawkpaw went back to Tigerstar and Tigerstar believed Firestar dead. And by all appearances, he still is. Now...about your plan..."   
**


	19. Chapter 19

**  
About my plan. As I watched Blackclaw's paw coming at my neck I could already tell this was the worst-case scenario. I could dodge, I could attack, I could do a hundred other things. But I just closed my eyes and waited. **

**Waited for the cry I so wanted to hear. None came. No cry of success. **

**My eyes opened in time to duck. My left ear was nicked by the sweeping claws and I wiggled under the larger tom's chest. I pushed up, throwing him backwards even as he grabbed at me. I wasn't trained as a warrior. I wasn't a fighter. I was a healer and a planner. I had to stall. **

**Shadepelt was there now and her claws cut down at me before I could get away. I couldn't fight two on one. I couldn't fight one on one. **

**The wound stung and I pulled away, breathing coming in gasps. Blackclaw had recovered. I once again darted to another side of the cleared area to buy myself some more time. **

**"Enough of this running," growled Blackclaw. "That's cheating." **

**The cats around me closed in and my fur bristled and I hunched down. There seemed like no escape, but there didn't need to be escape. I was the distraction. **

**I needed to fight, as hard I could. I needed to live, as long I could. Until the message came or it didn't. **

**I unsheathed my claws and bared by teeth, but I could feel the blood dripping down my shoulder. Shadepelt aimed another blow at my face. I tried to block, but her paw had more power behind it than I could block and she forced me down. I squired, barely escaping as Blackclaw bit at my tail. **

**There wasn't any room to move anymore. I ran into a tabby warrior and was pushed back, almost onto Shadepelt. She still seemed hesitant, but Blackclaw wasn't. He took my unbalanced nature as a chance to finish things. He pulled at my ruff, teeth unkind and digging in hard enough to draw blood. I felt coked and tried to wiggle free, but his teeth held on fast. **

**"'inish de job," he said through my fur, pulling me backwards though I struggled. Shadepelt look frozen again. She'd attacked me, but I didn't think she'd actually expected that she'd have to kill me. There was no way I'd expected that either. **

**I pulled against Blackclaw with all my strength. But his teeth just closed deeper into my scruff until I yowled. I could feel his muscles strain against my back, but I couldn't break free or turn around to claw out at him. He kept pulling me off balance and for those dangerous seconds my belly was exposed. **

**And Shadepelt couldn't do it. Her fur was on end and her eyes wide. Her claws sheathed themselves again and she shook her head, backing up. But just as I thought that I would finally have the time I needed another cat bounded forward. I couldn't make out anything more than a flash of white. Maybe a she-cat, but it was a replacement with no such reservations that Shadepelt had. Their claws were out and they fell with a finality that not even StarClan could stop. **

**This was no challenge. Never had been. It was always an execution.  
**


	20. Epilogue

**  
Smokepaw was given a full name by Blackstar. His plan was a success, yet he had to sacrifice his life to carry it out. **

**TigerClan was nothing without the bulk of cats within RiverClan. Smokepaw had tried to think up every way to get them on their side, but there was nothing. But, when you took out RiverClan, there was just Tigerstar and his followers. If RiverClan were taken out of the picture, then the other clans would have a chance against them. If they were lucky, they would even be able to save Hawkpaw if he hadn't been made to fight yet. **

**But Smokepaw, who had made himself that distraction, was never to know if his plan worked. **

**A silver furred tom burst into RiverClan camp, blood on his fur and a long scratch across one eye. "Tigerstar!" He called out to the cats. Leopardstar heard him and ducked out of her den. "Tigerstar," said the tom again. "He's dead!" **

**Eyes widened in the crowd. Muttered words range around the cats. But none of them looked at the body of Smokepaw that was slowly bleeding out. **

**Things were never resolved that simply. But slowly, things started to shift. Smokepaw started something he never saw finished. But cats like Rose, Fairytale, and Minnow finished it. **

**Only StarClan can tell you what happened to Copper. Some say that the cat who looked like Firestar disappeared, off to rule a clan they'd never heard of. Some said he never existed at all. Others, yet, look at each other and share a small smile. Whether that's an answer or not, we never hear tell. **

**But over four seasons later, Blackstar stood up in the branches of a pine tree. He looked down at a gathering of warriors. At the trees base was a black she-cat with one white paw. Then there was a white furred tom who had to tilt his head a certain way so he could hear what his leader was saying. **

**"We are gathered here today to name a loyal and true ShadowClan member who walks with StarClan now. Smokepaw, wherever you are, I name you Smokestep. You walked a path no one else could. We, as a clan, could never do your name justice." **

**And the name rose above the trees, up to the dark night sky and to the stars.  
**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this fic on a whim. I practically picked an AU out of a hat when I made it. I'd recently just joined a new forums (it was one made by a friend and died soon after) and I wanted something to post. So I wrote the first two chapters and that was it. It wasn't until I finished my other fan fictions that I came back to this. It was also used as an exercise. All chapters were never more than a page in a Word Document. I wanted to see if I could keep chapters short but still make a good story. I like to think I succeeded.
> 
> I never really considered the ship of Cinderpelt/Littlecloud. Truthfully, it was just as much of a whim as the fan fiction as a whole was.  
And yes, I've always liked the son/daughter of Scourge tropes. I've seen it all before and this is just what I wanted to do.  
Copper being Firestar is a plot twist (big air quotes) I was cultivating for ages. It wasn't the one actually meant to be a surprise, so I attempted not to deliver it as such. There were other plots I aimed for and I think I made those. Smokepaw as a character is great, and I think one thing I really like about this story is how neatly it was wrapped up. I have too many series out there. XD  
Hope you liked it!


End file.
